Israel ‘Izzy’ Asper, the founder and chairman of international media company CanWest Global Communications, passed away at St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg Oct. 7, aged 71.

Asper stepped back from much of the day-to-day operations of the media giant in 1999 to focus on philanthropic endeavors. Among his current projects was the establishment of the Canadian Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg.

He is survived by his wife Babs, daughter Gail, and sons David and Leonard, who is CanWest’s president and CEO.

Asper is remembered as a visionary businessman who built CanWest Global into the largest media company in Canada, while strengthening his roots in Winnipeg. He presided over CanWest’s convergence strategy, which included the acquisition of print and Internet properties and the expansion of CanWest’s broadcast activities to New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Along with his encouragement and financial support of causes, Asper called himself a champion of Israel.

CanWest says Asper’s successor as chairman will be addressed by the board ‘in due course.’ At press time, the family had not yet set details for the funeral.

For an in-depth retrospective of the life and career of Izzy Asper, click here.